Indirect Object Exercises

Direct and indirect objects

A direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. It answers what? or whom? after the verb.

• I bought a book. (What did I buy? A book.)

An indirect object is the person (or sometimes thing) that receives the direct object, or for whom the action is done. It answers to whom? or for whom?

• I bought my sister a book. (For whom did I buy it? My sister.)

An indirect object only appears together with a direct object. If a sentence has no direct object, it has no indirect object.

Two patterns

Verbs such as give, send, show, tell, offer, lend, buy, make, bake can be used in two patterns.

Pattern 1: indirect object + direct object (no preposition)

• She gave him a gift.
• The teacher read the students a story.

Pattern 2: direct object + to/for phrase

• She gave a gift to him.
• The teacher read a story to the students.

The meaning is almost the same. In traditional grammar, only Pattern 1 contains an “indirect object”. In Pattern 2, to him is a prepositional phrase, and him is the object of the preposition.

When both objects are pronouns, Pattern 2 is the usual choice in standard English: She gave it to me, rather than She gave me it.

To or for?

Use to when something is transferred or communicated to someone: give, send, show, tell, lend, pass, offer, write, read.

Use for when the action is done for someone’s benefit: buy, make, cook, bake, build, find, get, save.

• She sent an email to her boss.
• He baked a cake for his daughter.

Verbs that do not take the first pattern

Some verbs do not allow Pattern 1, even though they involve a person who receives information. Examples are explain, suggest, describe, say, announce and introduce.

• Not: She explained me the problem. → She explained the problem to me.
• Not: He suggested me a restaurant. → He suggested a restaurant to me.

If you are unsure about a verb, use Pattern 2 with to, which is safe with most of these verbs.

Exercise 1: Identify the objects

Name the indirect object and the direct object in each sentence.

1. The teacher gave the students homework.
2. Maria sent her cousin a postcard.
3. He told us a funny story.
4. My uncle bought me a bicycle.
5. The waiter brought the guests menus.
6. She read the children a story.

Exercise 2: Which sentences contain an indirect object?

Choose all the sentences that contain an indirect object (Pattern 1 in traditional grammar).

a. I wrote my grandmother a letter. b. I wrote a letter to my grandmother. c. The chef cooked dinner. d. She lent him her umbrella. e. The dog chased the cat. f. He showed the police his ID.

Exercise 3: Rewrite with to or for

Rewrite each sentence using a prepositional phrase.

1. She gave him a present.
2. He bought his mother some flowers.
3. Show me your passport.
4. They made us dinner.

Exercise 4: To or for?

Complete each sentence with to or for.

1. She sent an email ___ her boss.
2. He baked a cake ___ his daughter.
3. I’ll find a seat ___ you.
4. The teacher explained the rule ___ us.
5. Can you pass the salt ___ me?
6. They built a treehouse ___ the kids.

Exercise 5: Correct the mistake

1. She explained me the problem.
2. He suggested me a restaurant.
3. I bought for her a scarf.

Answers

Exercise 1 (indirect object / direct object)

1. students / homework
2. her cousin / a postcard
3. us / a funny story
4. me / a bicycle
5. the guests / menus
6. the children / a story

Exercise 2

Sentences a, d and f contain an indirect object (my grandmother, him, the police). Sentence b uses a to phrase instead. Sentences c and e have a direct object only.

Exercise 3

1. She gave a present to him.
2. He bought some flowers for his mother.
3. Show your passport to me.
4. They made dinner for us.

Exercise 4

1. to
2. for
3. for
4. to
5. to
6. for

Exercise 5

1. She explained the problem to me.
2. He suggested a restaurant to me.
3. I bought her a scarf. (or I bought a scarf for her.) The original puts the for phrase before the direct object, which is not the usual order; either drop for and put the person first, or put the for phrase after the direct object.

To practise spotting other sentence parts, see the page on identifying noun phrases, because objects are often noun phrases. For general editing practice, use the sentence correction exercises.